Lyman Barton to Hiram Barton
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I now take this opertunity to answer your most welcom letter that I
[received] Apr 19 and was very glad to hear from you The
Rebs attacted our pickets Well I was on picket next to the post that they
atacted there has been considerable fireing every since but not much done We
took a notion the other night to try and do some thing So the morning of the 19
about 2 oclock we started and went aboard of a gun boat to cross the river and
try and take a battery but did not get ready till nearley day light so they give
it up and came back to camp and started about 2 in the afternoon went aboard of
the boat Steping
Stone 6 Co of our Regt 8 Co of the 89 Ny wer on
board the other Co wer on picket they had canvass all round the boat so the rebs
could not see us the captain of the boat said he wanted to make them think that
he wanted to [run] by the battery then they would man their
lower guns then we could land under a bluff that was clost to the fort his plan
was good and it worked as he expected we had one man to raise the curtains 6 to
throw the gang planks out for what we did had got to the be done in a hurry we
got our orders on board our Co was to land first Charge the riflepits and hold
them the others wer to go on to the fort the boat had no soner struck than the
board was thrown out and we rushed for it and off we went
into the
water up to our arms but we wer soon out and up the hill and charged the pit and
that was all we did charge in stead of being full of sharp shooters as we
expected there was nothing we staid as we wer ordered and the others went on
[to the] fort and took it 5 guns brass pieces 2000 rounds
of shot and shell 121 prisoner 7 officers we rooled the guns into position and
fired their own amunition at them I call that rough we staid over there all
night it was pretty cold for we did not have our overcoats or blankets nor any
thing to eat for 24 hours we had 2 killed 3 or 4 wounded the 89 had about the
same I saw Robert More J Putnam C Wright Dick Woods Ance French L Dolph the
other day they wer all well in the 118 NYSV I hardley think the rebs will try to
take this
place they are building fortifications all the time this
regt has been on extra duty every day for 10 days I got a letter from Father and
Almira the other day Henry has buried his girl Almira is going to school up to
Westport boart to Nelsons Orvil More has gone back to Hammonds Co.
It rains pretty much all of the time now I can not think of any thing more this time so Good by Write soon
From your brother L.A. Barton
H H Barton
drest as before